Not really, not entirely, but some discussion on the previous post about how the powers that be in this nation are now completely off the rails, and just when it was that this nation lost it’s way, prompted me to extrapolate a bit on the broader subject of conspiracies. The nation, of course, was in many ways off the rails from the founding, if you are even halfway convinced by Christopher Ferrara’s most important work, Liberty: The God that Failed, but I left a comment wherein I talked about how recent study has caused me to conclude that my previous belief – that conspiracy theories are almost always false – was itself a result of a deliberate effort by the CIA to discredit those who opposed their varying agendas. That is to say, it was the CIA itself that coined the phrase “conspiracy theory” in the 60s to squash those asking uncomfortable questions about the JFK assassination, the Vietnam War, morally questionable (or downright damnable) US activities in many countries, etc., etc……..and in fact came up with all the arguments against conspiracy theories I have tended to believe – that conspiracies are extremely hard to conduct, that they are impossible to keep secret, that to do X so many people would have to be involved that word would certainly get out, that “the real world doesn’t work that way,” among other things. [Sorry for those of you who get posts by e-mail, I wrote this in a huge hurry and really botched the grammar in this first paragraph. The first few sentences didn’t make much sense. Mea maxima culpa]

I had swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. To my comment:

One thing I learned recently, which was fascinating and has caused me to re-examine my own previously held notions, is that it was the CIA itself that coined the phrase “conspiracy theory” in response to continued doubts over the JFK assassination and other scandals of the 60s. I wouldn’t say I believe in black helicopters, the Illuminati, chemtrails, or anything quite like that just yet, but it is patently obvious at this point to anyone with an ounce of sense that there is a massive, ongoing conspiracy against conservatism, Trump, liberty, Christianity, and the conception of this nation as founded, or what was long presented as the conception of this nation, that has become so clumsy and obvious of late that it can no longer be ignored, but which in fact goes back decades if not much longer. And yes the US was wrongly founded from the beginning, in being not based on Catholicism (and in many respects hostile to the Faith as it was certainly practiced then, and had been since the early Church), and in being the product of a small dedicated group that sought the overthrow of the existing economic/political/cultural power structure and its replacement with another structure – with themselves in the positions of power. In other words, a conspiracy, and a successful one.

If you read the sad, US-influenced political and cultural history of Mexico since 1800, you will find almost exactly the same thing. A small cabal subverting the will of the vast majority of souls and imposing a hostile and alien construct upon the masses, for their own personal benefit.

And then there is the example of the Church, where again a relatively small cabal, infinitely aided by sympathetic, timid, and/or feckless leadership, has seized control and imposed a radically different construct on the (initially?) largely unwilling masses, and even convinced them of how good and wonderful all these changes have been. Just recently I had an exchange with some septuagenarians, very early boomers who were at just that “right” age at Vatican II, who are just utterly convinced of how wrong and awful the pre-conciliar Church was, and how wonderful all the changes have been. When I presented contradictory evidence, the implosion of vocations, tens of millions of souls lost to the Church in this country alone, etc., etc., they said those were POSITIVE developments, that it made absolutely no difference what “church” one belonged to and those people were probably better off outside the Church, given all the evils like the boy-rape epidemic and collapse of catechesis that have resulted (and that religious life was a crock, that it was a medieval concept for stuffing unmarried daughters and Jesus freaks into veritable asylums). There is absolutely no arguing with these people, no quoting of Scripture, no relation of the wisdom of the Fathers, no statistical data that can possibly move them from their position that Vatican II was an unalloyed good and what existed before an unalloyed evil. These people are wholesale devotees of the new religion foisted on the Church in the 60s. They only remain Catholic themselves for sentimental reasons, or, more demoniacally, to continue the work of destruction (and some of them have been long involved in just that).

These are just a handful of examples. I still do not believe that history in toto is more or less a collection of conspiracies successful and failed, but that doesn’t mean that extremely influential events have not been developed and decided by a (relatively) small group working to a particular purpose.

So get me a tinfoil hat and call me a conspiracy theorist, but honest reading of history reveals that a great many extremely influential events have been the result of a small cadre of dedicated activists, generally working in secret (see France, 1789). IOW, a conspiracy.

And I would say that all the cultural/moral travesties we have witnessed over the past 50-odd years are the result of a deliberate conspiracy aimed at destroying Western civilization and, in particular, the Church, in order to bring about a sexularist socialist “utopia.” I mean, transgender bathrooms, really? or arguing that guys (it’s always guys) who say no to men dressed up as women are hateful bigots? For real? Like that just happened organically, naturally? Riiiiiiight.

These prayers are new to me. Hopefully they will be to you, too. I found them in the book A Manual of Practical Devotion to St. Joseph by Fr. Patrignani, SJ. The book is a veritable bible of means of practicing devotion to St. Joseph. I have found it edifying to read, as someone who trusts immensely in the intercession and spiritual guidance of St. Joseph.

A Prayer for Purity

O holy St. Joseph, father and guardian of virgins, to whose fidelity was confided Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, the Virgin of virgins; I supplicate myself and conjure you, through Jesus and Mary, this sacred deposit which is so dear to your heart, to grant that, preserved from all sin, and perfectly pure in mind, heart, and body, I may have the happiness of always serving Jesus and Mary very faithfully. Amen.

Ejaculatory Prayer

Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, I give you my heart and my life. Jesus, Joseph and Mary, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, grant that I may die in your holy company. (three hundred day’s indulgence, applicable to the souls in Purgatory)

Prayer for a person with a laborious occupation:

Blessed Joseph, who have passed your life in the painful labors of a humble profession, I take you as my model and my protector. Obtain for me that I may bear patiently the pains and fatigues of my state, that, like you, sanctifying my labors, I may merit a crown in Heaven. Amen.

Prayer to Implore the Protection of St. Joseph

What consolation do I feel, O my admirable and powerful protector, in hearing your servant, St. Teresa, assure us that no one ever invoked you in vain, and that all those who have a true devotion to you, and who seek your help with confidence, are always heard! Animated with a like confidence, I have recourse to you, O worthy spouse of the Virgin of virgins; I take refuge at your feet; and a sinner though I am, I dare to present myself tremblingly to you. Do not reject my humble prayers, O you that have borne the glorious name of Father of Jesus, listen favorably to them, and deign to intercede with Him who has been wiling to be called your Son, and Who has always honored you as His father. Amen.

Act of Consecration to St. Joseph

O blessed St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to your honor, and give myself entirely to you. Be always my father, my protector, and my guide, in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a great purity of heart, and a practical love of the interior life. After your example, may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the divine hearts of Jesus and Mary. And, in fine, deign, blessed Joseph, to make me participate in the delights of your holy death. Amen.

I know some, perhaps most, readers have believed that what we have all been sold as “democracy,” or a representative republic where the “will of the people” is expressed, at least generally, in broad strokes, by their elected leaders at the national level, has been dead for decades. Pick your date for when it died – Marbury vs. Madison, the Civil War, the 16th Amendment, direct election of Senators, the assassination of JFK, the lies perpetrated by the intelligence apparatus to suck us into the Iraq War……whatever – the point is, many of you have been onto the fact that this thing we have been very deliberately and carefully propagandized to believe – that we have some say (again, at the national level particularly) in how we are ruled (not governed) – is a farce. It hasn’t been true in a very long time.

I don’t mean to sound defeatist, unpatriotic, or, God forbid, like a carping leftist, but if the revelations of the mammoth, ongoing, unrepentant, largely unreported Deep State conspiracies against Donald Trump, and, more particularly, those who elected him, have shown us anything, it is that somehow, over the past few decades (I think it’s mostly occurred in my lifetime), a deeply entrenched unelected unaccountable cabal has taken over the reins of power in this country, particularly at the national level but depending on where you live all the way down to the most local level, and that democracy, or republicanism, as we have all been taught to believe, is a crock.

This cabal consists of deeply embedded, careerist bureaucrats in the government, the academic environment from which they derive their sacred credentials which they purport makes them fit to rule over others, and a media which has become wholly ideological and uncaring about having even a semblance of impartial coverage. It is deeply classist and thoroughly bourgeois. Indeed, that is their primary objection to Trump and his supporters, that they are so working class, so often Christian, so rough and tumble, so politically incorrect (and thus heretics against their new, self-made, godless and God-hating religion) and just so gauche.

This coalition of the unworthy, this cadre of self-anointed leftists, has grown unchecked in power and influence over the past 50 years irrespective of which party is in office. Well intentioned fool Bush ’43, however, did a very great deal to make their hold on power unshakable through the the “PATRIOT Act” and unaccountable, secretive courts and apparatus that have been, and will continue to be, ranged against the people of this country not in pursuit of national defense, but in pursuit of naked partisanism and self-aggrandizement.

We are confronted in these present days with a scandal that utterly dwarfs the defining political scandal of the past 3 generations (at least) – Watergate – in which a democrat administration and a democrat political campaign found eager partners in the intelligence and federal law enforcement bureaucracies in order to try to destroy the reputation of the Republican candidate and so swing the election to Hillary Clinton. Even after this effort failed and Trump won, the democrats and their media allies have waged an utterly unprecedented and unconstitutional (as if that matters anymore) campaign to have a sitting president accused of committing some crime, any crime, even (or especially) if it is not an actual crime, in order to drive him from office.

And the media, an absolutely vital component in the system of checks and balances envisioned by the Founding Fathers, has gone over wholly into this same obvious partisanship and absolute contempt for decency, fair play, or anything remotely resembling balance. Indeed, the relations between the media, academy, infotainment complex, and government agencies is as incestuous as it is corrupt. All of these entities have a huge stake in seeing the current system continue to grow in wealth and power, no matter the consequences for the “little people” who are being crushed through their avarice. No, that’s wrong……crushing the little people is indeed the point, as this cabal seeks to create a new peasant class and a new aristocracy.

That this cabal is also entirely leftist and filled with loathing for this nation as founded, all non-leftists, and especially those who believe in God and adhere to traditional morality is simply the glue that holds the entire unholy enterprise together.

I’m ranting, but I think we good cause. I have listened to hours of media coverage try to pretend that a government conspiracy to destroy a major party presidential candidate (and now president) is of absolutely no consequence, and in fact, that it is the Republicans who are damaging the Constitution and endangering the Republic. The unmitigated gall…….but as I’ve said before, if you want to know exactly what evils leftists are guilty of, see what they accuse their opponents of.

…Kamala Harris tried to imprison pro-life journalists for probing Planned Parenthood. Now she’s a U.S. senator, whom some think should run for president. What would President Harris’ FBI look like? A lot more like the Stasi than we would like to admit.

More than likely, the best that we can hope for is that Trump will not be wounded politically by all these efforts, but may even get a slight bump. But given what we’ve witnessed in these last 5-6 years of ugly, self-serving, Chicago machine-style rule, there is absolutely zero chance that any of the major players in this attempt to destroy a properly elected Republican administration will even be convicted of a crime, let alone serve any jail time (which, manifestly, numerous people, from Lois Lerner to James Comey to Strozk and these many other characters should). The law, the ever-multiplying rules and regulations they impose on us, are for the little people. The elite, the connected, the self-anointed (always holding the correct, changing-by-the-minute leftist politically correct beliefs) are above such things.

The question is, how much longer are we not just going to take it, but continue to pay for the privilege through our obsequious submission to taxation and and other means of control?

The other question is, many traditional Catholics would argue that what we are seeing now is the inevitable end state of a democracy. All previous “experiments” in democracy have failed. Are we doomed to repeat the experience, and must it lead to civil war and cultural collapse, as it so often has in the past?

What should we, as Catholics, advocate for, in terms of politics, if anything? Is it better to just try to ride out the calamity, doing the best we can for our family and other loved ones, and let the chips fall where they may? Is there a point in engaging in this system anymore, or should we only advocate for some radical alternative, whatever it may be?

The Fatima Center/Our Lady’s Army of Advocates will be holding a conference at the DFW airport Hyatt Regency March 9-11 2018. A bevy of fantastic speakers are lined up, including this blog’s favorite Father Michael Rodriguez, Fr. Paul McDonald, Father Isaac Mary Relyea, Chris Ferrara, Michael Matt, and many other top speakers. Rates for the conference vary, the rate for the entire weekend is $270 which includes meals but not lodging, but walk-in rates starting at $20 are available for the main Saturday conference, which, yay! The Sunday conference is also only $20 if you brown bag it. What a great Lenten retreat! I pray my wife and I and perhaps some of the kids are able to attend, it should be a fantastic event.

The flyer is below. The complete list of speakers is here. Father Rodriguez is mostly speaking on Sunday, for those with a particular interest in hearing him, though I’m certain the entire conference will be wonderful and well worth attending. We should be able to make at least one of the days. The rest of the conference schedule is here.

This conference is not just for locals. Come in from Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, El Paso, and much further afield! If you do plan to attend, please leave a comment and we can try to set up a meeting if you want. I’m sure I’ll/we’ll be at least one of the days.

What a blessed event for our area and dioceses. Though Mass will be offered each day of the conference and I’m certain the speakers will be quite busy, it would be wonderful if any of them could take a short trip over to Irving and drop by Mater Dei. I know their presence would be most appreciated, and it might be interesting for them to see such a large traditional parish. We’ll see.

I will post additional reminders and announcements as the event nears. If any of the organizers would like any particular aspects advertised, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or contact me at larryr103@gmail.com. I’m eager to spread the word on this great catechetical and social activity.

………and he also notes, that this sin of onanism – which I assume all readers know means self-abuse – does not have to be a sin of the person who falls into these inclinations. It can, in fact, be attributed to these sins in the parents, especially when combined with pornography use, which then allow the demons associated with these sins into the house, infecting even those who may not share the same sin (though, in most of these cases, they will). In the Old Testament, God reveals that the sins of the father are visited upon the children, even down to the 4th generation. This is actually a good reason for all Catholics, and especially converts, to know their family history. Masonry in the US was extremely common, especially throughout the farming communities of the Midwest, 100-150 years ago. I have several family members who were Masons, God rest their souls. Thus it was advisable that I, as father of my family, have minor exorcism prayers said in order to break any curses that might have been brought down on our family through this Masonic involvement. I also wonder if that Masonry is a source of the anti-Catholic animus that existed in some of my forebears, but that’s another subject.

At any rate, the sermon below is on a difficult topic, gender dysphoria, but the priest handles it with good care. I would say it is suitable for all fathers, almost all mothers and most children, but some families with the blessing of extreme innocence and delicate consciences may want to be careful with it. The priest notes that God made us male and female, and that this definition is made at the very core level of our beings – in our genetic codes. You either have a Y chromosome, or you don’t. Thus these transgender activists, pretending that gender is just an accident of socialization and can be “easily” changed with massive chemical intake, a change of dress, some makeup, and, oh yeah, permanent body mutilation, are insane. Actually, they’re not insane, they are in thrall to a hideous, satanic ideology, an ideology that seeks endless power for itself, and ruination for souls:

Transgenders, sodomites, and all their ilk (the growing “pedophile rights” movement) all pretend that their sin is somehow unique or different. Remember back when sodomites and their Leftist enablers told us they were born that way, and so it couldn’t be a sin? Now they say that not just sexuality but sex itself is entirely mutable and changeable, because it is convenient for them to do so. But as the sermon notes, it’s just another sin, and we all sin. Everyone of us struggles with various kinds of sins, and temptation to sin. Every single one. I’m an addict. There is infinitely more evidence that there is a genetic, “born that way” component to addiction than there is to sodomy or transgenderism. In fact, the genetic or hereditary component of addiction is pretty much proven – it definitely runs in families. That doesn’t make my sins of intoxication or compulsive sexual sins no longer sinful. And I am not “special” because I have this inclination. Everyone is born with a particular temperament, and particular inclinations towards sin. Some people have greater inclinations than others. Why? God knows, but the common view of the Saints is that God allows more suffering in those he loves most. His Son suffered infinitely for our sins, and God is incapable of loving anyone any more than Himself in His Son. Those tempted more are called to higher sanctity. Some horrible sinners have become tremendous Saints.

The priest’s explanations in the sermon are full of truth and love. It is very compassionate, but not in the modern, Francis of Rome Jesuitical sense. Not in the Father James Martin sense. In, you know, an actual Catholic sense.

I should add, also, that I don’t mean to imply above that if a kid falls into one of these lifestyles, it is necessarily the parent’s fault. I have seen kids falling away from wonderful families, families who, as well as an outsider can tell, seem to do everything right. People sin. There are myriad causes. The point above was just to note that these particular sins are very dangerous not only for parents but for their kids as well.

The rumors have been that Planned Butcherhood is about to get hit with a number of federal charges/indictments, and that some of those might name apparently departing Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards personally. She got out while the gettin’ was good. Whenever one of these ambitious, wholly ideological creatures says “time with the family” or “other projects,” it means it was forced in one way or another. These people never voluntarily step down from their positions of power and influence. To the idea that she means to run for governor of Texas – yeah, good luck with that.

Anyway, by deliberate act, she participated in the murder of over 3.5 million babies. That makes her one of histories greatest monsters:

The President of America’s largest abortion chain Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, plans to resign next week, according to a Buzzfeed report that cited “two sources familiar with the matter.”

A Planned Parenthood representative told Buzzfeed, “Cecile plans to discuss 2018 and the next steps for Planned Parenthood’s future at the upcoming board meeting.”

“The Planned Parenthood official did not comment on Richards’ future,” Buzzfeed reported, even though “Richards, 60, has informed at least some members of the organization’s board of directors [that she is leaving], one of the sources confirmed.”

Richards has overseen America’s largest abortion vendor since 2006. Her salary continually increased as did her tenure. She currently rakes in nearly a million dollars a year overseeing the organization that commits over 300,000 abortions annually. [$3 a head. What a bargain.]

During the Obama era, the abortion business had an ally in the White House. However, Richards still had to contend with investigations from Live Action and the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) that revealed Planned Parenthood’s willingness to cover up child sex abuse, aid-and-abet sex traffickers, and profit from selling body parts of aborted babies. [Abortionists cover up sex abuse? How else do the abusers get rid of the evidence? I mean, c’mon people! This is current year! What else are they going to do with it?!? It’s not like selling babies into white slavery in Qatar or Brunei is easy these days!]

Since President Trump took office, Planned Parenthood has increasingly sounded the alarm about the threat he and other pro-life Republicans pose to abortion-on-demand.

“Cecile Richards was the most devoted practitioner of Planned Parenthood’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mantra to cover up their barbaric abortion business from the public,” David Daleiden of CMP told LifeSiteNews. “As Planned Parenthood faces federal criminal investigation from the FBI and DOJ for selling aborted baby hearts, lungs, livers, and brains, Richards’ departure shows that the old strategy is no longer working – the secret is out that Planned Parenthood is a taxpayer-sponsored crime syndicate of industrial-scale child killing, and even Cecile Richards can no longer put a friendly spin on it.” [Awesome quote]

“Cecile Richards may be stepping down because Planned Parenthood is under investigation for illegally trafficking in aborted baby body parts and other crimes,” Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, told LifeSiteNews. “She may be trying to get out before indictments drop. She is also tainted with other scandals by her close affiliation with Hillary Clinton and Fusion GPS, which are also being investigated. Planned Parenthood may now view her as a liability.”

“In any case, this news indicates a destabilized Planned Parenthood organization, and as long as they are in disarray, they can’t expand their abortion enterprise, and that is good news,” said Newman.

So for the greatest killers of the last 120 years, Cecile Richards has passed fellow leftist Pol Pot and is up there in Hitler territory. She’s a piker compared to the greatest leftist murderers of all time, though – Stalin and his 50 million, and Mao with his 100 million plus.

It’s almost like this ideology is the literal inversion of all that is good and true and brings with it nothing but endless, hellish death. But it’s the official ideology of probably 95% of all the college professors in this country and throughout the West. Could a hundred thousand academics really be this wrong?

And you want to pay them $50,000 a year for the privilege of indoctrinating your children in this most beastly of ideologies? Of course, there are ways around this, it’s not a blanket condemnation of sending any kids to any college, but it is meant to be a provocative challenge – are you really thinking about what you’re doing? And are you doing it for them, or for yourself? I knew a family, an outwardly good, seemingly Catholic family, that refused to believe that Notre Dame University was anything but the be all and end all of Catholicism, and the absolute best place to send their kids to college after going through the incredible sacrifice of homeschooling all of them. They had 5 kids. They sent four of them to Notre Dame. Every single one has fallen away from the Faith. and not in a low key, but a spectacular manner. They’re not just cold to the Faith, they are positively hostile. The last kid, the youngest, was lucky. He didn’t have the grades for Notre Dame. So he’s going to a local community college, and is still Catholic.

I bring up this bit about college because Leftism is an all-pervading ideology with a thousand facets and a million ways to kill a soul. It’s also the dominant culture in our media-numbed society. Leftism always ends in death. Sometimes its the death of millions of babies, other times it’s the death of faith in millions of souls, but it always brings death with it, because it’s not just a creation of fallen men, but it was contrived as a deliberate antithesis to Christianity and godliness. It’s the tempting alternative to a moral, godly life. It’s presented as bright and shiny, intelligent and popular, urbane and sophisticated, the default belief set for anyone who wants to be anybody in this world.

But this is what it really is:

For the squeamish, frankly, I could have shown much, much worse. This is who Cecile Richards is, and what she promotes. May God have mercy on her soul, and may she convert before it is too late.

Even though, in the past, he has painted himself as a pro-abort at times, in terms of concrete action, has any president done as much as Donald Trump to support the pro-life cause? Not only was he the first sitting president to directly address and, in a way, take part in the March for Life, he named Jan 22, the anniversary of the worst, most murderous, most unconstitutional and immoral Supreme Court decision ever (Roe v Wade), Sanctity of Human Life Day:

President Donald Trump proclaimed Monday, January 22, 2018, “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.” The proclamation comes on the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. throughout the entire nine months of a mother’s pregnancy.

Trump made the proclamation on Friday, as hundreds of thousands of pro-life pilgrims converged upon Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life.

“Today, we focus our attention on the love and protection each person, born and unborn, deserves regardless of disability, gender, appearance, or ethnicity,” begins Trump’s proclamation.

“Reverence for every human life, one of the values for which our Founding Fathers fought, defines the character of our Nation,” Trump continued in the proclamation. “Today, it moves us to promote the health of pregnant mothers and their unborn children.”

In doing this, however, he was just continuing a practice of Republican presidents since Reagan in 1984:

President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day in 1984, making note that millions of U.S. lives lost to abortion in the 11 years since Roe v. Wade — already by then “over tenfold the number of Americans lost in all our Nation’s wars” — was “a tragedy of stunning dimensions that stands in sad contrast to our belief that each life is sacred.”…….

……….It was continued every year throughout the administration of Reagan’s successor, George H.W. Bush. Bill Clinton then dropped it during his eight years as president, and George W. Bush then resumed it again for his eight years in office.

Barack Obama did not declare National Sanctity of Human Life Day during the eight years of his administration.

Go figure.

Trump’s reinstated the “Mexico City” policy, forbidding federal funding of abortion overseas. He nominated a solidly pro-life Supreme Court Justice. He wants to defund Planned Barrenhood, if Congress can ever pass a new budget, instead of endless continuing resolutions. These place him as equal the better Republican presidents since Reagan. But by attending the March for Life, did Trump – whose personal life is a catalog of immorality – catapult himself into position as the most pro-life president ever? Could it be, that contrary to his predecessors, he is less a politician than a man of some convictions, less likely to be bent by the polling or the political winds?

A couple of videos from Tumblar House below, critiquing the modern “liberal” democratic state and pointing out its internal contradictions. Indeed, I think a reasonable argument could be formed that the Catholic hating Karl Marx was somewhat on the right track in predicting that a then-emerging system would collapse of its own internal contradictions, but he was wrong to apply that reasoning to the economic sphere rather than the political. That’s not to say that anything else was at all right, and in fact I am being a bit deliberately tongue in cheek and provocative in even relating this to Marx, but the point is, there are far, far more identifiable and correctable problems with the modern (cult like) understanding of “democracy” as the pinnacle of political evolution than there were, or are, with capitalism as an economic system. That is not, to say, the modern “capitalist” state with heavy socialistic government interference almost everywhere in the world, and certainly in the global mass economy, with the government picking winners and losers and stacking the deck heavily in favor of corporate titans, but with the essence of capitalism, which is eminently Catholic and essentially the natural economic system of humankind – the exchange of goods and services at agreed upon rates by free actors acting in their own perceived interest.

Having said that, the two vids are interesting and worthy of some reasonable discussion, though I deplore the production values in the first. Being a host is harder than it looks! I’ve never heard of this Christophe Buffin de Chosal before, but it seems Charles Coulombe admires his work. Endorsements aside, I believe he does raise some valid and important points, that democracy, far from elevating the best of society to the top to serve as enlightened, dispassionate rulers, instead tends to advance the very worst – as the top political figures we’ve seen in this country over the past half-century, at least, have made abundantly clear. What tends to emerge is that, by pandering to the lowest common denominator in a society (buying special interest votes), hidden, or not so hidden, actors behind the scene can gorge themselves on the taxpayer teat while more or less ignoring the will of the masses. Goodness, to take one issue alone, there have been huge majorities (in the US, at least) in favor of drastically limiting LEGAL immigration in this country for decades, not to speak of illegal immigration, and yet the politicians, beholden to elites who desire cheap labor, continue to enact laws and policies that not only permit but encourage immigration at rates, and from cultures, that are demonstrably eating away at the fabric of not only the United States but the entire West.

Anyway, I am out of time, but discuss. I know many trads and hardcore Catholics tend to be critical of the modern liberal erstwhile democratic state, anyway, and there are probably a number of monarchists among us, but is democracy doomed to fail? Will it take down the entire culture with us, as it practically did the great ancient civilization of the Mediterranean, collapsing into first despotic rule and then total civilizational implosion, at least in the West? Are there ways out of this that are reasonably possible?

There will be a public discussion – a sort of debate, I guess – on the matter of how to respond to the current, absolutely unprecedented (in recorded history) Bishop of Rome we are confronted with sponsored by the University of Dallas tomorrow, Wed Jan 24 at 7:30 pm. The discussion is between Ross Douthat of the New York Slimes Times and extreme liberal Austin Ivereigh, and is moderated by journalist John Allen. So, basically, two leftists against a moderately conservative neo – the Left never appreciates a fair fight (as Jordan Peterson’s utter destruction of a British feminist last week demonstrated).

Here’s a blurb on the discussion –

UD will be hosting a public discussion of the current papacy this Wednesday (the 24th) at 7:30 pm in the Moody Performance Hall in downtown Dallas. It will be between Ross Douthat of the NYT and British journalist Austen Ivereigh, moderated by John Allen. These are three of the most prominent Catholic journalists in the English-speaking world, and we are very excited to have them here in Dallas. [Ivereigh is a close associate of the extremely progressive former Cardinal of Westminster Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, and basically gloated about the St. Gallen mafia and their role in enthroning Francis is a recent book]

This will be the first time in this country that one of Francis’s defenders (Ivereigh) and one of his critics (Douthat) have engaged each other face-to-face in public. Their moderator, John Allen, is probably the most well-known Vatican journalist in the world. [but definitely has a liberal bent, though less obvious than many of his confreres in the mainstream Catholic media. So it’s basically two against one]

We promise a fascinating and enlightening discussion, and I encourage all ICONers to attend. Tickets are $10 (free to UD faculty/staff/students).

I’ve got a wife with strep and probably bronchitis after nearly two weeks of flu, and several sick kids. So, no way I will attend. Having said that, part of me is interested to see what Douthat has to say, though I suspect I already know it. He is something of a critic of Francis, though hardly so thorough or penetrating as more traditional critics. Nevertheless, the interplay between the apologist Ivereigh and the critic Douthat could be interesting, though I doubt Allen provides anything like a level playing field, which will be maddening.

The thing is, what I think about this pope – Bishop of Rome, whatever – is pretty much settled. He is what he is. Goodness, as a man who understands the importance of gesture and media coverage, giving a pontifical medal to a rabid, murderous pro-abort the week of the March for Life in the US speaks for itself. He is pope, somehow, though I don’t understand, and God has allowed this for some reason I don’t understand, but I cannot see how Francis can be described as Catholic. He is a leftist ideologue with a wicked mean streak projecting an insincere joviality and the most publicity seeking “humility” in the history of ever. Much of that could be forgiven, however, if he did not so obviously loathe both the Faith and those who hold it. The problem is not with a pope with personal character failings. There have been plenty of those, and the Church weathered them just fine. The problem is a pope who is patently at war with the Faith.

At any rate, the tix (general admission only) are $5, so it’s a fairly cheap night out. Plan on another $10 or so for parking at least. I hope some video is shot and it shows up on Youtube. I am sort of interested in this debate to see where it goes, or rather, how far Douthat is willing to go in a hostile setting. He’s OK on some topics.

If any readers attend, leave a comment on your impressions. I’d appreciate it.

I think kudos to UD, for having the guts to host this debate, and even permit some criticism of Francis, muted though it may be? Of course, harsh criticism of popes from the Left has been not only permitted, but the central pillar of Catholic higher education around the world and especially in the West for decades, but this time it’s coming from the “wrong” side, the damnable right wingers.

I thank El Paso-based JMJHF Productions for all their work, especially their continued release of excellent catechesis material from Fr. Michael Rodriguez (on which, more later, God willing), but I really really appreciate their recent uploads of one of Fr. Rodriguez’ recent annual pilgrimages to Quito, Ecuador. The churches of Quito and its environs are shockingly, amazingly beautiful, true glories for not only the Church but the entire human race. This is the kind of heart that makes the soul sing and gives us creatures of mud and dust the slightest glimpses of heavenly glory. It is also the polar opposite of the modernist, often intentionally soul-crushing trash that has passed for Church art and architecture of the past 60-70 years. This damnable trend has been intentional, as fallen men sought to remake the Church in their own image, rather than aspire to follow the Truth of Jesus Christ.

The first video shows the Procession on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Good Success, February 2nd. The miraculous statue of Our Lady of Good Success is taken from the cloistered upper choir three times a year and placed above the main altar of the Convent Church to be venerated by the public. Fr. Michael Rodríguez offered the Traditional Latin Mass daily in the Conceptionist Church & Convent–home of Our Lady of Good Success (and look at how many souls assisted! The church is packed for a TLM, probably the first most all of these people, aside from the pilgrims (who were a tiny part of the crowd) had attended in decades, if ever). The technical name of the Church is, “Iglesia de La Limpia Concepcion”. This first monastery in Quito was established in September of 1575. Fr. Rodriguez also led pilgrims daily in praying the Holy Rosary and Novena to Our Lady of Good Success in front of the miraculous statue and gave spiritual conferences every evening on the major themes of Grace, Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Blessed be Jesus Christ and His most pure Mother!

Old town Quito is also beautiful in its own right, and also surprisingly well lit. It looks to me like many hundreds, possibly thousands, took part in the procession. How beautiful. What a glorious site Good Father Romanowski, formerly of the FSSP apostolate in Guadalajara and now pastor of a parish in Naples, FL, seems to have led the procession, in the traditional manner:

The next video is the one that really touches me – in both positive and negative ways. Ecuador has never been a rich country. Yet look at what pious souls built decades and centuries ago, out of their love for God and the Blessed Mother! And it was only right they do so – indeed it was a positive duty – to build the most beautiful, uplifting structures imaginable for the glory of God (which is His due) and for the good of souls. The modernist, concrete-and-sheetrock brutalist monstrosities that pass for Church construction in the past 70 years or so are the very antithesis of what is good for souls and properly due God. Even worse, you might even say sinfully, was the willful destruction of so much beauty created in total faith by previous generations of Catholics out of a perverse desire to create a new and false religion. Indeed, the profanation of Church art and architecture is a deliberate representation of the new religion promoted by modernist/leftists that must always stand in total opposition to the Faith of our Fathers.

There is a wide range of beauty below – parishes, basilica, cathedral, monasteries cum museums, etc. I have always adored Spanish colonial Catholic art, and the works of Latin American devotion that flowed from it for a century and a half after Spain lost her New World colonies. It is beautiful, wonderful stuff, treasures for the whole human race to glory in. These works also point to a time where the Faith was so utterly central to the lives of souls that I think we have a hard time even imagining it today, let alone emulating it in our own lives. We are so distracted by our trinkets of technology and our unheard of riches that our comprehension of the eternal is paltry and distracted. Perhaps I am speaking more for myself than for most of you, if so, I do not mean to cast aspersions.

I have exhausted my limited vocabulary in coming up with superlatives for this video and the Catholic treasures contained therein. Lord, may I go to Quito or other Latin American places soon, places where the ravages of wreckovation did not occur, or were at least kept to an absolute minimum! Look at all the altar rails! Look at the high altars still extant, and the prie deuxs, and the wonderful elevated pulpits (use them!), and the gilt ceilings and incredible reredos and the polychrome statues and original, extremely high quality and eminently Catholic paintings and……..you get the point. Thank you again to JMJHF Productions for putting these videos together. I know it takes a great deal of time, and this is not their full time job. Please consider helping them out, or the St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation, which also supports the work of good souls and Fr. Rodriguez!

The full list of sites in the video is below:

Conceptionist Monastery Church (Iglesia de La Limpia Concepcion), home of Our Lady of Good Success, in which Our Lady appeared to Mother Mariana.
Santo Domingo (St Dominic)
San Agustin (St Augustine)
Carmen del Atlo (Carmelite – where St Mariana, Lily of Quito used to live)
San Francisco
Santa Catalina
La Merced
La Compania (Jesuit, perhaps most glorious Church in the Americas…)
National Basilica to the Sacred Heart
(Cathedral Metropolitana) Basilica of the National Vow
Santa Barbara
Carmen del Bajo
Santa Teresita in La Mariscal
Church & Monastery of Guapalo
The Jesuit School where miraculous image of Our Lady of Quito is kept.

For those materialists who say, oh, this money is wasted, think of the poor who suffered want and privation when all this money was poured into churches like this – wouldn’t this money better have been spent on them, on alleviating their sufferings? But the poor we will always have with us, and I do not mean that in a cavalier manner in the least. Instead, think of how many souls happily gave of what little they had, which was infinitely less than any of us, to help render honor and glory to God and His Church to help build structures like this. Think of the grace that poured out on them and the world at large through such noble sacrifice. It is simply a wholly different and utterly incompatible mindset – that of faith and not of this world. Those who have it, have it, and understand instantly the willingness to deny self to give right glory to God, and those who don’t, simply don’t.

When I see amazing structures like this, and the immense good they still do for souls, and I ponder the opportunity we have locally – probably the only such opportunity the vast majority of us will ever have – to build a church that can really make an artistic statement, can really contribute to the great artistic treasure of the Church (one of the few such contributions to have been made in our lifetimes), I just think, we cannot mess this up. Iwould happily trade 500 seats for an amazing reredo, or a stupendous altar, or marble-covered walls, or original works of art. Heck, there are warehouses full of the stuff in Europe and Mexico, removed from any of the several churches being torn down weekly. It’s not even that expensive, much of it, certainly not compared to making it from scratch, if such can even be obtained. Anyway, I won’t rant on that anymore. This post is already much longer than I intended, and few outside this Diocese of Dallas care, and understandably so.